The dioxygen molecule has two bound states, singlet and triplet, which are different in energy, lifetime, and reactivity. In the context of oxygen electrocatalysis as applied to fuel cells and water splitting the involved O₂ is typically considered to be exclusively in its triplet ground state. However, applying spin-conservation rules for the transformation between triplet O₂ and singlet OH⁻/H₂O reaction intermediates predicts an additional free energy barrier associated with the required spin flip. As a result, for conditions under which both can form, the formation of triplet dioxygen from the singlet OH⁻/H₂O might be slower than the formation of singlet O₂. Correspondingly, singlet O₂ might be more active than triplet O₂ in the oxygen reduction reaction. Here, we discuss the possible existence and influence of singlet oxygen in oxygen electrocatalysis. Some perspectives for studying singlet oxygen in oxygen electrocatalysis are also provided.

双氧分子有两种束缚态，单线态和三线态，它们的能量、寿命和反应性都不同。在应用于燃料电池和水分解的氧电催化的背景下，所涉及的O ₂通常被认为仅处于其三重基态。然而，将自旋守恒规则应用于三线态 O ₂和单线态 OH ^- /H ₂ O 反应中间体之间的转换预测与所需的自旋翻转相关的额外自由能势垒。因此，对于两者都可以形成的条件，从单线态 OH ^- /H ₂ O形成三线态分子氧可能比单线态 O ₂的形成慢. 相应地，单峰ö ₂可能比三重ö多种活性₂中的氧的还原反应。在这里，我们讨论单线态氧在氧电催化中的可能存在和影响。还提供了研究氧电催化中单线态氧的一些观点。